Our inbox in 2017

What a year it has been! As editors of an online poetry magazine, we receive many forms of feedback. Some of them are very nice to read, others are insulting … and then there is a different category: messages that we are not sure what to do with. Just like many other websites, it is time to share some interesting conversations in 2017.

What a year it has been! As editors of an online poetry magazine, we receive many forms of feedback. Some of them are very nice to read, others are insulting … and then there is a different category: messages that we are not sure what to do with. Just like many other websites, it is time to share some of the feedback we got.

We got blocked…

Isn’t social media just a wonderful thing? You can find your inspiration on different platforms and there is always the option to use the work of others. This promotion of poets across the globe, was our first mission when we started our website. Unfortunately, there are those who take it a step further…

We got blocked on social media by various so-called poets. So-called, because we believe they are not real at all! The reason for this: they steal the work of others and claim it to be their own. The first thing they do, when we confronted them with this information was to… block us.

The two examples that stand out are clearly out of touch with reality. When we confronted this “poet” who had over 1,300 followers on Instagram, he claimed that the words he stole were legit. He quoted these words that were written by “My favourite writer.” On other occasions, he did not try to explain that these words weren’t his when people commented on his postings. When we discussed this with him, this resulted in a nasty conversation. Insults and accusations were the results.

The other poet, who we exposed as fraudulent asked us a question in an e-mail:

I would please like to see the substantial evidence. And please tell which poems are apparently “plagiarized”.

A brave statement by someone who tried to pull off a stunt like this. Of course, we provided all the information we could about this plagiarism. We are still waiting for a reply to this message.

We need to go to Africa

Luckily, not all conversations we have are so dramatic as the examples discussed above. We get a lot of fan mail. We love that! But, we need to ask ourselves if we are the right party for the job that is offered to us:

“Please visit our Church in <<name withheld>>, to preach about Jesus Christ.”

Help me with my paper!

Many students have found our website. We are more than happy to provide a platform for those who are in need of some analysis. Things can get a little bit out of hand:

“… I cant fail my test! Plz, help me with my paper! I will pay good money!”

Unfortunately, we cannot do this. That is what we told the sender of this e-mail. We hope things turned out right though.

Why do women write?

Analyzing is what we do. Unfortunately, we don’t have all the answers in the world…

“Why do women write? Do you know?”

We replied with the following:

“Unfortunately, we too have our limitations. We believe in equality and freedom for both sexes. Therefore you can ask another question instead: ‘Why shouldn’t women write?’”

As you can imagine, we are still awaiting the answer.

Poe as a Parrot

“Help! What is that poem where POE is a PARROT?”

Answer: none, this is a parody of “The Raven.”

And there is more doubt when it comes to poetry:

“Was Emily related to Charlotte?”

You should publish this!

The words on this website aren’t ours when it comes to the poetry we promote. Still, not everyone seems to understand this:

“OmG! You should publish this”

Yes, that is what we considered. We were able to shake off this idea, since this was this poem.

And 2018?

Well, in 2018, we hope to receive just as many messages in our inbox. It’s always nice to read how our work is appreciated! The reactions we receive from YOU, the visitors to our website and the followers on social media, are overwhelming! Thanks very much for sparkling up our mailbox and inboxes on social media!

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Our inbox in 2017

Summary

Read some of the most interesting forms of feedback we received in 2017...